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Review

Octopussy (1983)

7/10 Out of all the Bondfilms with Roger Moore as 007, Octopussy is the one with the most Cold War aspects, and yes, what a great atmosphere I experienced when I saw the scenes in East-Germany, truly magnificent. If you are talking about those Cold War aspects you should not forget to mention Steven Berkoff his performance of an insane Soviet general with a hunger for power. Wonderful. The other villains are memorable as well: Louis Jourdan with style and sophistication; Kabir Bedi as one of those invincible henchmen and David Meyer & Tony Meyer are deadly twin brothers with an advanced skill in the trowing of daggers. As for the girls this one features two Swedish ladies: Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn. Both of them are very strong and they have both some lovely scenes. Vijay Amritraj is Bond his ally in India: worth watching. This is also the first of four films to feature Robert Brown as Bond his superior M. John Barry is once again present with a truly wonderful soundtrack. The film is really amusing and has a great atmosphere. Despite the claim of many critics, Roger Moore is still in good shape. The only scene that disappointed me was the one where 007 is disguised in a circus clown, that will be painful for Bondfans, but the rest of the film is great. Do not skip this one.

3 years ago

Bond As Indiana Jones

10/10 Was there ever a James Bond like this one? Oh, there were better Bond stories, no doubt, but I do doubt there were any more entertaining than this one.

In "Octopussy," we get more of an Indiana Jones-type adventure story than the usual spy farce. In fact, there is so much adventure in here it gets tiring, to be frank. It's almost too much....but it is a lot of fun along the way.

The best part of the film isn't the wild adventure, either: it's the humor. This has more laughs in it - stupid and clever - than any Bond film I can recall.

Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jordan, Kristina Wayborn, Steven Berkoff and Kabir Bedi must have had a lot of fun - and been worn out - making this film. By the way, itt's always interesting to see the intriguing Adams.

This and "Goldfinger" are my two favorites of the Bond series, and I'm glad to see so many others here share that opinion.

3 years ago

Roger Moore's Best Bond Film

5/10 This is by far the best of the Roger Moore Bond films in my opinion. I may be prejudiced since "Octopussy" was the first Bond film I saw theatrically, but I absolutely loved it back then and it still holds up today. The plot is a fine blend of the serious stories of the early Connery films and the humorous touches of the Moore era. Add to that a smooth villain in Louis Jourdan, delicious over-the-top counterpoint from Steven Berkoff, a formidable henchman in Kabir Bedi, two exotic Bond girls in Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn, beautiful location photography in the rich "travelogue" style (did India ever look as good as it does here?) and a great John Barry score and you can't go wrong with it at all. The tense buildup in the bomb countdown which has Bond donning clown makeup at one point is probably one of the most exciting in any Bond film.

Roger Moore hit his peak playing Bond in this film and the proof is how he seems so much better than Sean Connery does in the inferior "Never Say Never Again" that came out that same year. It's a pity that Moore didn't go out with this one, since "A View To A Kill" was so poor by comparison.

By all means rent this, watch it and have fun!

3 years ago

Anther great one

5/10 "Octopussy" is really peculiar in the series. Because, for example, we see Bond dressed like a clown or keeping a plaster; there's an exotic and romantic atmosphere -which reminds us of some adventure books (like Emilio Salgari's "Sandokan" and "The count of Monte-Cristo"...) Here 007 has to travel between India and Germany for stopping a catastrophic plan of Soviet General Orlov and Afghan prince Khamal Khan.

With a little more parody than in the previous film "For your eyes only", "Octopussy" continues in the line of more down to earth Bond adventures.

Roger Moore's performance is good as usual, the cast is also remarkable -Louis Jourdan is one of the French actors who built a good Hollywood career, starring in films like Hitchcock's "The Paradine case" and Vincente Minnelli's "Gigi". He's Kamal Khan, a very charming and sophisticated villain -he's the criminal equivalent of Bond. Jourdan brings a special touch of glamour -you see he's an actor of the golden years of Hollywood!

Maud Adams is the only actress who played twice a Bond girl -she was Andrea in "The man with the golden gun".

Steven Berkoff is an established English actor, mainly for theater, but he played also in Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon".

Kabir Bedi is an Indian actor very popular in the second half of the Seventies -he was "Sandokan" in a famous TV film made by RAI, Italian public TV.

John Glen directs the film with a lot of fun and assures a great show. The film doesn't disappoint.

"Octopussy" is the last great Roger Moore movie as Bond, and maybe the last BIG Bond of the series as well -because it's original, lavish, acrobatic, romantic and pompous.

8,5/10

3 years ago

Bond had to catch that train...

8/10 'Octopussy' begins at an East German circus, where 'a man in a clown suit' is chased through a dark wood by two circus knife-throwing experts The clown eventually gets a dagger in his back, but survives long enough to drop a fake Faberge Easter Egg at the feet of the British ambassador

The clown is actually 009 in disguise, who is investigating a smuggling ring that uses carnivals and circuses for cover But the plot is much more grave than that

There is a rebellious Russian general called Orlov, assuming a fortuitous atomic explosion on an American Air Force Base in West Germany

Orlov's connection is an exiled Afghan prince (Kamal Khan), who is willing to help the Soviet general smuggle his deadly A-bomb into West Germany in exchange for Kremlin most remarkable jewels

James Bond enters the case, in London, to investigate the death of 009 He attends a sale at Sotheby's where a priceless super green egg (used by Czar Nicholas in 1897) is auctioned There he first sees Kamal Khan and his lady friend, Magda

Aware that Khan will get the Imperial Egg to fulfill some unknown but obviously vital purpose, 007 actually bids against the exiled Afghan prince, raising its market value over the top Although Khan eventually outbids him, Bond is clever enough to switch the real Faberge egg with a perfect replica

Convinced that Khan is somehow mixed up in 009's murder, Bond is soon sent to India to find out why 009 was murdered

Bond remains the sophisticated man with a price on his head He pays a surprise visit to an island exclusively populated by attractive women He seems to like 'eggs, preferably Faberge and dice, preferable loaded.' He maneuvers the world's smallest jet, and swings through the high trees to someone else's tunes He orders a ferocious beast to sit, and creates a spontaneous mass action by flinging 'hard currency' in the air... In a crucial moment, he appears to have a 'very good memory for faces and figures, survives a series of throwing knives, and gets caught on a train tracks He follows a plane on horseback for a terrific mid-air fight sequence

Maud Adams' Octopussy serves little purpose in the story taking a backseat to Kamal Khan's disloyalty Nevertheless she is a statuesque resourceful woman living with her stupendous sexy acrobats on a floating palace, developing a talent for illegal activities

Christina Wayborn's Magda actually steals the show from Maud Adams Magda is by far the prettiest of Kamal's friends exposing a 'little Octopussy' tattoo on her lower back Her dramatic exit from 007's bedroom certainly must rank up as one of the best memorable escape in any Bond movie

Louis Jourdan brings poetic elegance to a treacherous character He is quite sure that Bond is 'indeed, a very rare breed soon to be made extinct.'

Kabir Bedi plays the villain Gobinda, with strong hands that can pulverize so easily a pair of dice

Steven Berkoff plays Orlov, the wonderful Russian villain who surely is leaving the way clear for a full-scale Russian invasion of Europe

With John Barry beautiful score; the snake charmer playing the 'James Bond' theme; the disturbed fakir resigning his bed of nails; Bond climbing at a steep angle of an engaging decolletage; John Glen's 'Octopussy' is exotic, lush, very enjoyable and highly entertaining